Learning Activities and Learner Interaction
Learning activities facilitate and support learner interaction and engagement.
Contents
- 1 The learning activities promote the achievement of the stated learning objectives or competencies
- 2 Learning activities provide opportunities for interaction that support active learning
- 3 The instructor’s plan for interacting with learners during the course is clearly stated
- 4 The requirements for learner interaction are clearly stated
The learning activities promote the achievement of the stated learning objectives or competencies
Evidence
Videos, night/day sky observation sketching, in-class observation, all-class and small group discussions, individual, readings, digital flashcard creation and use, web page creation, development of a presentation on how past cultures interpreted the sky promote the achievement of the course objectives.
Suggestions for Improvement
Course learning objectives 7 and 9 have no aligned assignments that are explicitly labeled . Course learning objectives 8 and 10 have few aligned assignments. Reviewing these objectives and creating/aligning more activities with them would improve student success at achieving them. For each of them, learning check and exam questions test them; page-building activities provide initial guidance toward them; but explicit practice would be helpful.
Learning activities provide opportunities for interaction that support active learning
Evidence
Students create web pages following as series of prompt questions to show how they are building knowledge through their readings. Students participate in online discussions both with the entire class and with a small group for each module. Students also prepare a small presentation with a group over the course of several weeks, providing feedback to one another and receiving instructor feedback in the process.
Suggestions for Improvement
Emphasizing the thread of mutual reinforcement between online and face-to-face interactions would increase student participation during class.
The instructor’s plan for interacting with learners during the course is clearly stated
Evidence
- E-mail timing expectations are described in the Who I Am page of the Syllabus.
- Office and observatory hours are described in the Who I Am page of the Syllabus.
Suggestions for Improvement
- Students may find a description of the weekly announcement timing and its approximate contents useful, perhaps in the Who I Am page of the Syllabus
- Description of when to expect assignment feedback would be useful, perhaps in the How To Succeed In This Course page of the Syllabus.
The requirements for learner interaction are clearly stated
Evidence
The Who I Am page of the syllabus describes the preferred contact method and forms of address for the instructor, linking to an external site on etiquette for e-mailing the instructor.
Suggestions for Improvement
- Students may find useful a description of if and when they should respond to instructor feedback on assignment submissions.
- Students may find helpful a description of expectations for how to interact during face-to-face time, perhaps in the What You Will Do to Learn page as well as the Participation assignments.
- Students may find clarifying further description of expectations for interacting in groups in the How We Will Use Groups page and perhaps the How We Will Deal With Unusual Circumstances page.
